July Content

Hey Tunefoxers,

Jordan here again on behalf of the team. We have a bunch of new tunes and videos to let you know about. Most of the songs this month were user requests and they were some good ones!

I’ll jump in and talk a bit about the BANJO tunes and vids. As many of you know we recently lost some legends in the banjo world - Ben Aldridge and Jim Mills. As an avid Skaggs fan I’m pretty familiar with, and a huge fan of, Jim’s playing. Check out Temperance Reel to learn lead and some backup in his style. We’ll be adding some more transcriptions and licks in Jim’s soon. I'm really just starting to dig into Ben’s playing because of you all requesting his tunes. Thank you all for that! We have his classic Appalachian Rain available and this month we’ve added Dark Hollow. There, you’ll find a transcription from the “Live at the Cellar Door” album. His playing is so smooth, eloquent, and always tasteful. It drives, but is also full of subtlety and sensitivity. He was an incredible talent. The way he blended single string, melodic and Scruggs styles was just seamless. His Scruggs style playing here is also just so inventive, and unique to him. Definitely check this one out & make listening to the original part of your practice.

Highway People and Riplet in Distilled Water are based on some classic country and jam tunes. Their names should be a “dead” giveaway. I hope you all enjoy these. The Two Finger arrangements for You Are My Sunshine are really fun, and the Easy version is super easy. I crafted this one with beginners in mind. Extra notes besides the melody are added in, but it doesn’t demand the speed usually required for 2 or 3 finger style.

Salt Spring has also been added for MANDOLIN and GUITAR. The Crosspicking version for guitar is both accessible and beautiful. It mimics the drone effect achieved on mandolin. The Bluegrass versions are simplified and much easier. They are great for beginners or intermediate players who need something more simple that they can play at higher speeds

A whole slew of new videos have been added for banjo as well. Check out the list. Dig in, and enjoy! Keep picking and stay tuned y’all.

Thanks,
Jordan, Jakub, Jiri